31 July, 2014

Review - Engage. Sunrider : First Arrival

By
Kyle Shimmin

Developer Love In Space, has succeeded in bringing together,
the much beloved flavour of classic sci-fi, with the garish and over-the-top
nature of graphic novels, in the form of a simple, yet challenging strategy game.

Sunrider : First Arrival

In Sunrider : First Arrival, a science fiction akin to Star Trek, meets the sensibilities of
anime, in a flurry of feathered hair and mechs (known as, ryders). There are
two sides to Sunrider; it is part graphic novel, and part turn-based strategy
game.

You are the recently commissioned Captain Kayto Shields, your
ship – the Sunrider, a Ceran Space Force,
Carrier-class – is nestled peacefully in drydock, but it won’t remain that way
for long. Before you can even issue your first order, you’ll find yourself
surrounded by PACT – a seemingly insurmountable force enveloping the Neutral
Rim – and your home world under siege, nay devastated by the PACT flagship,
Legion.

Now flying without a banner, without a port to call home,
you and your First Officer, Commander Ava – she’s cool but she is no Commander
Riker - begin to freelance your services, helping beleaguered backwater planets against pirates
(and PACT), led by the psychopathic (and stunted) antagonist Cosette. Along the
way you’ll meet a number of ryder pilots you’ll recruit, all of which are
female – hey, I said this had the sensibilities of anime didn’t I – and all of
which are unique. Asaga, is a happy (at times annoyingly so) and carefree pilot
, who helps the weak and hunts pirates, with the aid of Chigara – a shy
engineer with aspirations of running a bakery rather than a repair shop. You’ll
meet the bloodthirsty bounty hunter Icari, the lovestruck ‘doctor’ Claude, Sola
an ancient warrior, and the loyal Alliance soldier Kriska.

Yes that drool, and yes it goes there... You've been warned.

These characters are equally defined in the strategy
portion of the game, each have their own set of abilities, and accompanying strengths
and weakness. For example, Chigara the engineer, focus’ around manipulating the
battle in less tangible ways than using a missile, she can buff up her allies,
or weaken her enemies, she also has the repair ability which can be key to
survival. Sola, the enigmatic ancient warrior boasts a powerful kinetic sniper
rifle, making her deadly in the early stages of battles, when the opposing
factions are often outside of optimal weapon range. Icari is in this sense, the polar opposite of Sola – they are both
cold blooded killers, but Icari favours close quarters combat over sitting back
picking off the enemy – Icari moves quickly, obscured by her ryder’s stealth
ability, she lands only killing blows with her over-sized katana.

In most combat scenarios cover isn’t really an option, which
puts an increased emphasis on weapon ranges and calculating the optimal firing
solution. Formation is also important too, you will always be outnumbered, at
least initially, so surrounding the enemy isn’t an option, and spreading your
forces too thin early on is only going to result in salvos of missiles tearing
up your ryders. Allies and enemies alike
have a chance to intercept incoming missiles, so it is worth keeping your
forces close together for increased missile defence when approaching an enemy
at range. This works both ways of course; unleash a flight of missiles into a
dense enemy formation, and expect them to meet a barrage of flak before they
get near your intended target.

“…Nukes and Proton Torpedoes are a necessity of modern life...”

The Sunrider and her ryders have more than just phasers at
their disposal– the arsenal is vast and destructive and it’s imperative to learn
when to best use each weapon. Energy-based weapons, laser and pulse attacks,
are often your long range choice, alongside the highly coveted missiles and
rockets. Kinectic attacks utilise the Sunrider’s main guns and can be
devastating when they hit, but to use them you’ll have to move in close. There’s
no point on wasting the main guns on enemy ryders, assault attacks use the ship’s
flak cannons, will riddle ryders with ease – but don’t expect them to even dent
the hull an actual ship. All of the Sunrider’s weapons and defences can be
upgraded by Chigara - in order to prevail against the later missions, its
crucial to identify your prevalent strategies and upgrade accordingly.

The screen-saver is pretty harrowing.

Early battles are straightforward, but they soon racket up
the difficulty, mix up objectives and alter the dynamic of battle in some
interesting ways, all in service of keeping the gameplay fresh. This is perhaps
one of the game’s most important, and easily overlooked strengths. An
unfortunate hallmark of even some of the best Japanese role playing games; the
best parts of the games are often front and back-loaded, specifically the story
– resulting in large periods of grinding levels and endless combat in the
middle. Alas, Sunrider remains strong throughout, the balance between the graphic
novel and strategy aspects is managed expertly.

In one battle you’ll need to utilise
the long-dead hulks of ships for cover, as your forces close on the vastly
superior enemy. In another, you’ll be forced to break the enemy’s front line
quickly and destroy the carriers that are constantly spewing our enemy
reinforcements, before you are overwhelmed. Fortunately, you have your own unfair advantages to call
upon. Command points can be spent on Orders in battle; the cheapest provide
offensive and defensive buffs to your forces, but be honest, you’ll only want
to unleash the Sunrider’s Vanguard Cannon. The Sunrider’s own super-weapon may
only be deployed a few times throughout the game – so make it count – the
destructive beam will basically annihilate (or at least severely weaken) any enemy
forces caught directly in-front of the Sunrider. There are also a few opportunities
to spend Command points outside of combat, to make executive orders and impact
a battle before it begins.

“…We’re in the middle
of war reminiscing about high school…”

Surprisingly, Sunrider : First Arrival helped quench my seemingly
insatiable thirst for Star Trek-style sci-fi - you’ll order the jump to warp
with an outstretched hand that would make even Piccard proud, and as a chapter
ends, you will lean back in the Captain’s ready room and begin narrating ‘Captain’s
log’ reports. Yet let’s not forget the presentation - ships and
characters alike, are visually excellent. The strength of the art direction is highlighted particularly well when
engaged in battle, where there is very little actual animation. Additionally,
the game’s soundtrack is sublime mix of orchestral space opera, and racing electronica
that kicks in as battle rages.

Sunrider : First Arrival is a gem worth inspecting - if of course,
you have it in your heart to experience graphic novels and enjoy anime. The turn-based
ship (and mech) combat, evolves from fun to epic as the challenge increases –
fear not, Novel-mode difficulty exists for those who’d rather not replay lost
battles time and time again. However, out-manoeuvring a particularly tricky
enemy is a delight and watching their fleet’s burn is a particularly sweet
treat of satisfaction. First Arrival is but the first entry in the series,
which left me ravenous for the next episode of Sunrider. Oh, did I mention it’s
free?

3 comments:

Nice review! Will you do a second and full review once the next and then all chapter come out? Ô.o Hum... and one more thing... did you know that "The mask of Arcadius" chapter will be comming out next month? xD